Athas (S10)
A desert planet, due to the decay of its sun, and overuse of a form of magic (Defiling) which drains the planet's life force. The devastation of Athas is the result of magic run amok. Most of Athas is an empty desert, interrupted by a handful of corrupt Colonial cities controlled by Corporate Stewards and their spell-wielding lackeys. Slavery is commonplace, gladiatorial duels provide entertainment for the elite, and treachery and death permeate the culture. As rain falls only once per decade in some areas, water is more precious than gold. Travelers risk dehydration from the scorching heat, ambushes from brutal elven raiders, and attacks from giant tentacles lurking in the dust-filled Sea of Silt. Due to the harsh conditions of the planet, all the forms of flora and fauna have evolved to be extremely hardy and powerful as compared to the other races from other D&D worlds. Most, if not all, races on Athas have a unique self-defense mechanism that consists of psionic ability, enhanced strength, augmented agility, increased mass, lower food/water intake, superior visual/aural capabilities and/or various physical weapons. Athasian races are considered to be more highly evolved than that of other worlds. For instance, an Athasian elf is faster, stronger and larger than elves from other worlds. An Athasian human is also capable of being much stronger, faster, hardier, smarter, wiser and more charismatic than other humans . This evolution is because of the following reasons: # Many natural resources have been depleted by Defiler Magic. These resources include; water, minerals and life-force. # The harsh environs have induced a societal change to a primitive and basic government control. Athas adopts a Darwinian approach whereby the weak perish, the strong survive and the strongest rule. Therefore, the weaker of the species have long been weeded out, leaving only the stronger ones to pass on their beneficial genes. In such a world as Athas, a death by natural aging is considered to be a great honour and an event worthy of celebrations. There are a number of distinctions between magic users: clerics, who draw their power from divine sources and frequently come into conflict with one another; druids, who draw their power from nature (or what's left of it) and are often the most vocal and violent opponents of defilers; defilers, who draw their power from sacrificing the lifeforce inherent in all things to fuel their spells, including their own at times; preservers, more commonly referred to as mages or wizards, who draw their power from the lifeforce of plants in the same way as defilers, but do not draw enough energy to kill the plants; and psionicists, who draw their power from their own minds, and technically are not mages, as magic and psionics are two completely different forces. Psionicists are often considered the most 'pure' as their power doesn't come from external sources, though power-hungry psionicists frequently become defilers. Sorcery is almost unheard of, though it has been noted in dragon-descended individuals and those that would transform themselves into dragons. Locations Colony Centers Balic- Ruled for centuries by Andropinis, the Steward, Balic is the richest and most powerful city state. It lies far to the South, at the coast of the Great Silt Seas. The power of the waterways, the Southern crossroads, Balic trades with all of the other kingdoms of Athas and has amassed great wealth. Bringing curious peoples and creatures from around the world, its markets are a place with nothing is forbidden and everything is permitted. References Wikipedia Athas article- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athas Category:S10 Category:Planet